B E N A L L I S O N

43 E 10th St, Apt 4B, New York, NY 10003 917-531-8994 • [email protected] • www.benallison.com twitter.com/benallisonmusic • facebook.com/benallisonmusic

Award-winning Bassist, Composer, Arranger, Bandleader Internationally Recognized Educator and Clinician Recording Artist (1998-2012) Sonic Camera Records Owner and Recording Artist (2013-present) Artistic Director & Composer-in-Residence, The Composers Collective President, NY Chapter,

PERFORMANCE EXPERIENCE Touring and Recording Bassist, Composer and Bandleader, 1990-present o Leader of the Band, Ben Allison & Think Free, The Easy Way Trio, Man Size Safe, Peace Pipe, Ben Allison & Medicine Wheel: o Featured bassist, composer, arranger and artistic producer on 16 award-winning albums of original compositions and/or arrangements of varied repertoire o Performed on and organized over 150 national and international tours as a bandleader o Headlined at countless national and international festivals, concert series and special events, including the North Sea Jazz Festival, San Francisco Jazz Festival, Carnegie Hall, Newport Jazz Festival, Atlanta Jazz Festival, Mito Settembre Musica, Seixal Jazz Festival, and London Jazz Festival, among many others o Composed, arranged and produced music for radio, television, film, and theater, including the theme for NPR’s On the Media (which is heard by over 2 million listeners weekly), the score for Two Days, a play by Pulitzer Prize winning playwright Donald Margulies, and themes for brands such as TIAA-CREF, GlaxoSmithKline, Charles Schwab and many others. o Received numerous commissioning and performing grants from The Mary Flagler Cary Charitable Trust, American Composers Forum, Meet the Composer, Mid-Atlantic Arts Foundation, Chamber Music America, The Aaron Copeland Fund for Music, and The National Endowment for the Arts, among others o Featured performer on over 60 live radio and TV broadcasts (national and international) o Featured performer with the Jazz Sinfonica, 80-piece symphony orchestra, Sao Paulo, Brazil, 2005, 2008 & 2013 o Played bass on over 60 albums, various artists Ben Allison, p. 2!

NONPROFIT ARTS LEADERSHIP Founder, Artistic Director, Composer-in-Residence, The Jazz Composers Collective, 1992-2005 • Founded non-profit, 501(c)(3) organization dedicated to fostering, presenting, and building audiences for new music in the jazz and creative music idiom: o Developed vision, mission, strategic plan, and fundraising strategy in close collaboration with the Board of Directors for the formation of an arts organization focused on the creation of new music and serving the community; o Directed all aspects of the Collective’s programming, including an annual concert series, educational outreach activities, annual jazz festival and residencies with arts and educational institutions in the US (Museum of Modern Art, New School Jazz and Contemporary Music Program), Europe (Oxford University, Southampton University) and Brazil (Campinas Arts Center, US Embassy Louis Armstrong Arts Program, Souza Lima Music Academy); o Produced over 100 concerts featuring 50 composers, the premiere of over 300 new works and the participation of over 250 musicians; o Authored over 30 successful grant proposals for the commissioning and/or recording of new music, the touring of Collective projects, and general operating expenditures; produced annual fund drive; o Produced, moderated and marketed to the public a free educational series in partnership with the Jazz and Contemporary Music Program at the New School University on topics, including music publishing rights, the ins and outs of forming a non-profit, and Q&As with music business professionals. Ben Allison, p. 3! Board of Governors, The Recording Academy, New York Chapter, 2011-present

Advocacy Committee Chair, June 2012 - June 2016 Vice President, June 2014 - June 2016 President, Board of Governors, The Recording Academy, NY Chapter, June 2016 - present o As President, organize and lead regular board meetings of New York chapter, including Executive Committee, Nominating Committee, Membership Committee (ex officio), and Education Committee (ex officio). o Oversee chapter programming and initiatives, including annual Nominee Reception Gala, and member services and events, including “Up Close and Personal” events with influential performers, songwriters, producers and engineers. o Attend and participate in bi-annual National Trustee board meetings (Los Angeles, CA) o Founded annual Grammy Town Hall, NYC. Host and moderate panel discussions with performers, songwriters, publishers, record label executives, technology companies and other industry leaders. o In conjunction with Academy legal team, develop language for and advocate for NY State Music Production Tax Credit. o Meet with Members of Congress in Washington, DC and New York to advocate for music- related and copyright reform legislation. Participate in National Advocacy Committee actions and planning. Organize and attend Grammys on the Hill and Grammys in My District advocacy days and initiatives. Ben Allison, p. 4! DISCOGRAPHY AS A LEADER/CO-LEADER: Ben Allison, Layers Of The City, (Sonic Camera, 2017) Ben Allison, with The Easy Way, Quiet Revolution (Newvelle Records, 2016) Ben Allison Band, The Stars Look Very Different Today (Sonic Camera, 2013) Ben Allison Band, Action-Refraction (Palmetto, 2011) Ben Allison Band, Think Free (Palmetto, 2009) Ben Allison & Man Size Safe, Little Things Run the World (Palmetto, 2008) Ben Allison Quartet, Cowboy Justice (Palmetto, 2006) Ben Allison & Medicine Wheel, Buzz (Palmetto, 2004) Ben Allison, Peace Pipe (Palmetto, 2002) Ben Allison & Medicine Wheel, Riding the Nuclear Tiger (Palmetto, 2001) Ben Allison/, The Herbie Nichols Project, Strange City (Soul Note, 2001) Ben Allison & Medicine Wheel, Third Eye (Palmetto, 1999) Ben Allison/Frank Kimbrough, The Herbie Nichols Project, Dr. Cyclops’ Dream (Soul Note, 1999) Ben Allison & Medicine Wheel, Medicine Wheel (Palmetto, 1998) Ben Allison/Frank Kimbrough, The Herbie Nichols Project, Love Is Proximity (Soul Note, 1997) Ben Allison, Seven Arrows (Koch, 1995)

AS A SIDEMAN / FEATURED ARTIST (selected list): Camille Thurman, Inside the Moment (Chesky Records, 2017) Will Bernard, Out & About (Positone Records, 2016) Jeremy Pelt, Tales, Musings and Other Reveries (Highnote, 2015) , Tiddy Boom (Sunnyside 2014) Michael Blake, Ben Allison, Rudy Royston, Union Square (ABeat, 2013) Steven Bernstein’s Millennial Territory Orchestra, MTO Plays Sly (Royal Potato Family, 2011) Steve Cardenas, West of Middle (Sunnyside, 2010) Steven Bernstein’s Millennial Territory Orchestra, We Are MTO (Sunnyside, 2008) , It’s a Gadget World (ABeat, 2007) , Quartet (Palmetto, 2006) Ted Nash, In The Loop (Palmetto, 2006) Steven Bernstein’s Millennial Territory Orchestra, Vol. 1 (Sunnyside, 2006) Michael Blake Trio, Right Before Your Very Ears (Clean Feed, 2005) Curtis Stigers, I Think It’s Going to Rain Today (Concord, 2004) Frank Kimbrough, Lullabluebye (Palmetto, 2004) Curtis Stigers, You Inspire Me (Concord, 2003) Ron Horton, Subtextures (Fresh Sounds New Talent, 2003) Ted Nash, Still Evolved (Palmetto, 2003) Michael Blake, Elevated (Knitting Factory, 2002) Tom Christensen, Paths (Playscape, 2002) Michael Blake, Drift (Intuition, 2001) Ted Nash Double Quartet, Rhyme & Reason (Arabesque, 1999) Ron Horton, Genius Envy (OmniTone, 1999) Frank Kimbrough, Chant (Igmod, 1998) Frank Kimbrough, Quickening (OmniTone, 1998) , Rhapsody II (Evidence, 1993) Lee Konitz, Rhapsody (Evidence, 1993) Ted Nash, Out of This World (Mapleshade, 1991) Ben Allison, p. 5! TEACHING EXPERIENCE Visiting Artist, Ensemble Instructor, 2011 - present Summer Jazz Program, New York, NY • Summer Session: Music of Ben Allison; Workshop, Performance & Recording

Adjunct Professor, 1996-present New School University, Jazz and Contemporary Music Program, New York, NY • Entrepreneurship In Music (2015-present) - developed new course • Senior Seminar (2015-present) - co-developed new course • Improvisation Ensemble (2015) • R & B Ensemble (2014-2015) • Electric Miles Davis Ensemble (2013) • The Ensemble (2011) • The Music of Herbie Nichols (1998-2000) • New Composers Workshop (2001) • Individual Bass & Composition Instructor (1996-present)

Visiting Artist, Ensemble Instructor, 2013 Fundacion Tonica, Guadalajara, Mexico • Summer Jazz Intensive: Improvisation Ensemble • Bass Masterclass

Visiting Artist, Ensemble Instructor, 2010 St Louis College of Music, Rome, Italy • Summer Session: Music of Ben Allison; Workshop, Performance

Teaching Artist, 2009-2010 Weill Music Center, Carnegie Hall, New York, NY • The American Spiritual

Visiting Artist, Ensemble Instructor, 2009-2011 Sienna Jazz Foundation, Sienna, Italy • Summer Session: Music of Ben Allison; Workshop, Performance • Spring Session: Music of Ben Allison; Workshop, Performance

Visiting Artist, 2008 Associazione Culturale OZ, Casalborgone, Italy • Inter-Disciplinary Workshop; New Work Creation & Performance

Guitar Instructor, 1990-1998 Third Street Music School, New York, NY • Individual Guitar and Bass Instruction • Jazz Ensemble Ben Allison, p. 6! WORKSHOPS / RESIDENCIES (partial list): Sacramento State University (Sacramento, CA) Capilano College (, Canada) Rio Americano High School (Sacramento, CA) McNally Smith College of Music (Minneapolis, MN) Sonoma State University (Sonoma, CA) University of Wisconsin Stevens Point (Stevens Point, WI) Knox College (Galesburg, IL) University of Alabama (Tuscaloosa, AL) University of Maryland, Baltimore (Baltimore, MD) Old Town School of Folk Music (Chicago, IL) Oxford University (Oxford, England) New England Conservatory (Boston, MA) Berklee College of Music (Boston, MA) Rhythmic Music Conservatory (Copenhagen, Denmark) Souza Lima (San Paulo, Brazil) University of Southampton (Southampton, England) Koninklijk Conservatory (Antwerpen, Belgium) Brown University (Providence, RI) (New Haven, CT) New York University (New York, NY) New School University (New York, NY) Mannes College of Music (New York, NY) Educational Center for the Arts (New Haven, CT) Fieldston School (Riverdale, NY) University of North Carolina (Charlotte, NC) Appalachian State University (Boone, NC) University of North Carolina (Greensboro) Humboldt State University (Arcata, CA) High School for the Performing Arts (Houston, TX) Lycee Francais (New York, NY) Western Michigan University (Kalamazoo, MI) Truman State University (Kirksville, MO) University of Missouri (Kansas City, MO) University of South Florida (Tampa, FL) Penn State University (University Park, PA) State University of New York (Purchase, NY) William Paterson University (Wayne, NJ) Manhattan School of Music (New York, NY) Wichita State University (Wichita, KS) Minnesota State University (Moorhead, MN) University of North Florida (Jacksonville, FL) University Of Maine (Augusta, ME) Binghamton University (Binghamton, NY) University of North Carolina (Chapel Hill, NC) Rhode Island School of Design (Providence, RI) Houston Community College (Houston, TX) University of Northern Iowa (Cedar Falls, IA) Cornish College (Seattle, WA) Columbia University (New York, NY) University of Iowa (Iowa City, IA) Foote School (New Haven, CT) Skidmore College (Saratoga, NY) Ben Allison, p. 7! AWARDS / CITATIONS SESAC Awards For National Radio Airplay: o 2014: The Stars Look Very Different Today (#5 CMJ charts) o 2011: Action-Refraction (#1 CMJ charts) o 2010: Think Free (#1 CMJ charts) o 2009: Little Things Run the World (#1 CMJ charts) o 2007: Cowboy Justice (#2 CMJ charts) o 2006: Buzz (#1 CMJ charts) o 2003: Peace Pipe (#1 CMJ charts) o 2002: Riding The Nuclear Tiger (#1 CMJ charts) o 2000: Third Eye (#1 CMJ charts)

Downbeat Critics Poll: o 2010-2016: Bassist o 2010-2016: Composer o 2002-2011: Rising Star Bassist (Poll Winner 2005, 2006, 2007) o 2003-2016: Rising Star Composer, Arranger, Artist, Group

2005 Bird Award, Netherlands o Previous recipients include Miles Davis, Art Blakey, Pat Metheny, Stefano Bollani, Ray Brown, Ornette Coleman, Sonny Rollins, Christian Scott, Joe Zawinul, Misha Mengelberg, and Han Bennick, among others

CONFERENCES / PANELIST (partial list) Host/Keynote Address, Grammy Town Hall, NYC 2016 Moderator, Performing Arts Panel, CoPA, The New School University, NYC 2016 Panelist, “The Empire State Music Production Tax Credit,” MondoNYC, NY 2016 Moderator, Grammy Town Hall, NYC 2015 Panelist, “Where’s the Money?” JazzConnect Conference, New York, NY 2015 Congressional Testimony, “The Future of Audio,” US House Committee on Energy and Commerce (2012) Panelist, “Translating the Intimate Spontaneity of the Club to the Concert Stage,” NY State Arts Presenters Summer Symposium, Saratoga, NY, 2011. Panelist, “The Artist Collective in Jazz: Unity and Diversity in the New York Scene,” International Association of Jazz Educators Conference, NY, 2007. Panelist, “Has the Internet Helped Jazz?” International Association of Jazz Educators Conference, NY, 2004. Participant, “Doris Duke Charitable Foundation: Jazz Initiative,” Montreal Jazz Festival, 2003. Participant, “Jazz Task Force” (launch of pilot program to support ensembles which perform traditional and/or contemporary forms of jazz funded by the Doris Duke Foundation), Chamber Music America, NY, 2001. Ben Allison, p. 8!

PUBLICATIONS (select list) ”Will The New York Music Production Tax Credit Help Your Business?” SonicScoop, 2016 “Ornette Coleman, A Top Ten List,” JazzTimes, 2011 “Groove is in the Heart,” Premiere Guitar, Sept. 2011 “The Music of Dave Holland,” JazzTimes, Feb. 2010 (contributor) “The Socially Networked Musician,” Bass World (International Society of Bassists), Sept. 2009 “Ben Allison: My Approach to Composition,” Downbeat, Jan. 2005 “Notes Are Overrated,” Bass Player, Sept. 2004 “My Favorite Records,” Double Bassist, April 2003 “Megaphone: Different Generations, Same Realizations,” All About Jazz, March 2003. Liner Notes, Herbie Nichols: The Complete Blue Note Recordings, 1997

PROFILES / INTERVIEWS (select list) “Ben Allison on Streaming, Crowdsourcing and the DIY Artist Life” Contrabass Conversations http://contrabassconversations.com/2016/12/14/286-ben-allison-streaming-crowdsourcing-diy- artist-life/

“Music Business Today.” Ben Allison on AM970 The Answer, NYC http://am970theanswer.com/Shows/L4307

“The Stars Look Very Different Today: Ben Allison Talks About New Album on WBGO” http://www.wbgo.org/thecheckout/ben-allison-the-stars-look-very-different-today/

“Keeping the Pirates at Bay: Ben Allison on WBGO’s the Checkout with Josh Jackson” http://www.wbgo.org/thecheckout/ben-allison-keeping-pirates-at-bay

“Making Frankenstein Move: Ben Allison in Conversation with Aaron Siegel” http://www.carnegiehall.org/BlogPost.aspx?id=4294983938

“Jazz Man Ben Allison: Personal And Unpredictable,” All Things Considered, NPR; http://www.npr.org/2011/06/11/137108909/ben-allison-personal-and-unpredictable

“Ben Allison: Singing the Melody,” JazzTimes; http://jazztimes.com/articles/27625-ben-allison-singing-the-melody

"New Comfort Under the Covers," The Wall Street Journal; http://online.wsj.com/article/SB10001424052748704662604576257000137287530.html

“Interview and Online Chat with Ben Allison,” A Blog Supreme; http://www.npr.org/blogs/ablogsupreme/2011/04/08/135124951/live-thursday-interview-and-online- chat-with-bassist-ben-allison

“First Listen: Ben Allison / Action-Refraction,” NPR; http://www.npr.org/2011/04/14/135039045/first-listen-ben-allison-action-refraction

“Ben Allison in Concert: Newport Jazz Festival 2010,” NPR; http://www.npr.org/templates/story/story.php?storyId=128984875 Ben Allison, p. 9!

EDUCATION New York University, New York, NY, 1989 B. A. Music Performance • Major fields of study: Acoustic Bass Performance, Composition • University Scholar (1985-1989)

Yale University, New Haven, CT, 1984-1985 • 20th Century Music (fall semester) • Child Psychology (spring semester)

Educational Center for the Arts, New Haven, CT, 1983-1985

LANGUAGES English (native); French (working knowledge)